The Children’s Rights Alliance welcomes the publication of the General Scheme and Heads of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill this afternoon.

Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Alliance, says: “Every child has the right to know their own identity where it is in their best interests. The pain and distress caused to adoptees by being blocked from tracing their personal information and history is well known.

The Children’s Rights Alliance has long called for an adoption information and tracing service to be put on a statutory footing and the publication of today’s bill is a major step towards achieving that aim.

The Children’s Rights Alliance welcomes the fact that the proposed legislation does in many ways respect the rights of the child. For example, the best interests of the child is to be the deciding factor in the sharing of information on anyone under 18 years. The Scheme includes a presumption in favour of the sharing of information and the legislation contains a very high threshold for withholding this information.”

The Children’s Rights Alliance will be examining this legislation in detail and will consult widely with its members on the legislative scheme.